Players: Don’t Put NFL Lockout Ruling On Hold

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - MARCH 03: An empty parking lot is seen at New Meadowlands Stadium, home of the NFL's New York Jets and New York Giants, March 3, 2011 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Last minute negotiations between the NFL owners and its players union are being held as the two sides face a midnight deadline to avoid a possible lockout next season. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)An empty parking lot is seen at New Meadowlands Stadium (credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Lawyers for the players filed their response to U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson on Wednesday morning.

Nelson is weighing a request from the owners for a stay, which means the injunction she issued to stop the lockout would be frozen during the appeals process. If Nelson grants the league’s request, players want the NFL to post a $1 billion bond, roughly 25 percent of players’ compensation last year.

The NFL says it needs the stay to make sure the rules for the new league year are fair and clear.

But players, in their response to the league’s request, say the dilemma the NFL says it’s in — risking violation of antitrust laws by imposing a system the players would challenge or harming the league’s competitive balance by a potential free agency free-for-all — is the league’s own doing.

“They put themselves in that position by repeatedly imposing rules and restrictions that violate the antitrust laws,” attorneys for the players wrote.

They argue the league could simply implement a new set of free agency guidelines and other rules: “There is no reason why the NFL Defendants cannot devise a lawful player system, and their complaints about potential antitrust scrutiny are not well-founded where such scrutiny is a reality of doing business.”

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